The present invention relates to hand-held power tools, and particularly to a support fixture for such tools.
Hand-held power tools have been used by woodworkers for many decades. From the day that the power drill replaced the brace and bit, hand-held tools have greatly simplified most woodworking projects and, perhaps most significantly, made woodworking and carpentry within the grasp of the non-professional. Throughout its development, the power drill has been adapted to a variety of woodworking and carpentry tasks, nearly all predicated on replacing the drill bit with a specialized tool. For instance, special bits have been developed for creating different types of holes in a workpiece. Other attachments allow a power drill to act as a screwdriver or sander. Still other attachment bits convert the power drill to a router capable of producing intricate patterns and scrollwork in a workpiece.
Woodworking power tools have evolved from the bulky pistol grip type drill to a more compact, “pencil” type tool. Smaller hand-held tools are available for performing very intricate cuts in a workpiece. Other hand-held power tools and attachments have been developed to allow a held-held drill to function like a coping saw or jig saw. To assist in these functions, templates are frequently provided to guide the woodworker. Initially, a steady hand was the only hope for the woodworker to follow the template, especially when making intricate cuts.
Eventually, attachments were developed that supported the hand-tool and provided a surface for supporting the tool on the workpiece. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,221 to Lacey discloses a router attachment that attaches to the working end of a pistol grip drill by way of a split clamp. This attachment freed the woodworker form having to deftly maneuver the bulky drill to perform router operations. The attachment included hand grips on opposite sides of a base plate that interface with the surface of the workpiece. The hand grips allowed the operator to use both hands in a very efficient and effective manner to guide the drill and router bit along the workpiece. While the attachment in the '221 Patent maintained the router bit in a fixed vertical position, the router attachment in U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,370 to Vess provided a means for supporting the router bit above the workpiece until it a cut is made. The system of the '370 Patent allowed the base of the attachment to remain in contact with the workpiece, even when a cut is not being made.
Many routing cuts are made with a pattern or template. Templates can be used to create finger joints, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,328 to Grisley, to perform edge cuts, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,675 to Beekman, or to create intricate patterns in a workpiece. Of course, the quality of the cut using a template is only as good as the ability of the operator to accurately follow the template. The '328 and '675 Patents disclose guide elements that engage and follow the template contour, all the while maintaining the router bit centered with the pattern.
All of these advances have simplified what had once been difficult and time-consuming woodworking tasks. As more and more people become “do-it yourselfers”, the hand-held power tools need to become easier for the operator to manipulate to make accurate and clean cuts.